Claim OwnershipThe CRAM Podcast ~ Extraordinary Ideas Unleashed
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The CRAM Podcast features engaging and thought-provoking interviews that explore innovative ideas and exciting new research that’s shaping our lives - whether it's the evolution of the work world, the transformative ways we connect, the re-imagining of home and place, or the dramatic changes in our identity and community. We interview leading researchers and big thinkers about the human condition and the possibilities of tomorrow.
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Is violent crime actually going up in Canada? According to Stats Canada, it is. Violent crime has increased by about 50% in the last decade. And a new report that compares the rate of police reported violent crime in Canada and the U.S. says the gap between the two countries has narrowed. It’s the result of decreases in violent crime in the US and increases in Canada over the last 25 years. What’s going on and what should we be doing about it? Irvin Wal...
What if there was something simple you could do that would improve your physical and mental health, keep you young, and possibly stave off conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's? It's not a pill, it's not invasive and there's no equipment. It's dance! Sounds hard to believe, right? But there’s growing evidence on the benefits of dance across a host of conditions. Rebecca Barnstaple is a dance researcher and has seen the incredible effects that dance can have on...
It’s called "the silent killer" and for good reason. One in three deaths around the world is caused by cardiovascular diseases. That’s almost 20 million people. And with aging populations, the problem is increasing. What happens if you have heart failure in a remote community - and the nearest hospital is hundreds if kilometres away? How do we ensure everyone gets good care? These are critical questions that researcher and cardiologist Heather Ross has been gr...
In what country did young employees work the most number of days from home? Canada! In one study, Canadian employees who were recent graduates worked an average of 1.9 days per week from home. The U.K. and U.S. rounded out the top three. Asian countries had the lowest levels when it came to remote work. Many people say remote work is more convenient, more productive, and less hassle with travel and time pressures. But remote work has its downsides too. According to the...
What’s your favourite snack? Is it gummy worms? Maybe a bag of salt and vinegar chips? Or how about a bowl of your favourite ice cream? In Canada, we are a nation of snackers. Surveys show about 80% of us have at least one snack a day. But our relationship with snack foods is a complicated one. We often feel guilty when we snack. And we even refer to junk food as a “guilty pleasure.” But why all the guilt? Aside from the hea...
Why should you think like a Roman Emperor? The emperor in question is Marcus Aurelias who was born in the second century. He ruled for almost 20 years and was a leading Stoic. Stoicism is a school of philosophy and it’s had a resurgence in popularity around the world. People are turning to it as a way to approach life and help navigate the various challenges they face. Cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT which is one of the most widely accepted forms of psychotherapy...
Note: A warning that the content contains graphic descriptions of the aftermath of the atomic bomb. This podcast is one of the most deeply affecting interviews I’ve ever done. On Aug. 6, 1945, 13 year old Setsuko Thurlow experienced a horror previously unknown to the world – the detonation of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. She miraculously survived while tens of thousands of people including members of her family and the classmates she was with, died. Some estimate the deat...
They kill more humans – than humans. I’m talking about mosquitoes. Surprised? Sure those pests cover us with bites, drive us indoors, and keep us awake all night with an itch that drives us crazy. But they also pose the much more serious threat as carriers of disease. Malaria, Yellow Fever and other mosquito-borne diseases kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. But what if we could get rid of mosquitoes - permanently? It’s possible. Ben Matthews...
Furries are people who dress as talking animals. Are they weird? Harmful? Or just misunderstood? Sociologist—and furry—Courtney Plante has spent years studying this growing subculture. In this episode, he tackles big questions: Is being a furry unhealthy? Who joins these communities? And is that story about kitty litter in classrooms actually true? All your furry questions—answered. GUEST: Courtney Plante is a professor of social psychology in the Dept. of Psychology at Bishop’s University in...
They say space is the final frontier. No way. The final frontier is right there within you – your brain! The brain is still a big mystery – even to scientists who are trying to figure out its puzzle. But they’re learning more and more about the brain and dispelling old beliefs about it. Are there left brain, right brain people? Are we born with a finite set of brain cells? Is it normal to lose memory as we age? Join us as we dive into the most complex, interesting and...
Did you know almost every person on this planet will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives? And here’s another other unsettling fact: there’s NO good evidence for many common treatments that millions of people undergo. And yet a huge amount of research has been done in this field and billions of dollars spent on therapies. What are these treatments? Why do people get them? What actually does work? Is it time for a revolution in th...
Trigger Warning: This episode discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 988 in Canada or go to headsupguys.org. Help is available. The facts are shocking. Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for men under the age of 50. Men die by suicide at 3X the rate that women do in North America and elsewhere. Why? What’s going on with men? And why is there silence around men and suicide? Dr. John Ogrodniczuk...
Have you heard of the series Adolescence? It’s one of THE most watched streaming shows and has sparked a lot of conversation around incel culture. A boy living in the UK is accused of murdering one of his female classmates. He’s 13 years old. The details about his life make the situation even more disturbing. He does well in school, he’s never been in serious trouble, and he comes from a loving family. Nothing unusual except… his online life. Soci...
If I said people are upset, fearful and angry, you might assume I’m talking about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. And that’s because a day doesn’t go by when those tariffs and our reaction to them… make headlines. And there’s been intense scrutiny on the way Trump has approached tariffs – his negotiation strategy - which seems unpredictable. But is it? What’s behind Trump’s tactics? How effective are they? What can we learn from his ac...
A day doesn’t go by when you’ll hear about a new survey or poll. And you might even be asked to participate. But just how credible are they? It’s one thing if we’re talking about “are we a dog or cat person” but quite another if we’re asked “who will we vote for in the next election” or “should we stop the flow of immigration?” These are weighty issues. Like it or not, polls and surveys are important. What do we need to know about them? What makes a good or bad ...
Thinks about ads. We love to hate them. And we hate to love them. We try and avoid them but they’re everywhere. And when they’re good they can stir up all kinds of emotions in seconds. On this podcast I interview a guru of the advertising and marketing world – Terry O’Reilly. Terry’s the host of “Under the Influence” on CBC Radio. He’s won hundreds of awards and is one of the best storytellers I’ve come across. You’ll be entertained and you’ll learn a ton about the a...
We’ve never had so much information. But we don’t know what’s true. Billions of google searches occur daily, thousands of news items are published, hundreds of hours of content are uploaded on youtube, every minute. Radio, television, news articles, podcasts. We’re adrift in a storm of information chaos according to researcher Tim Caulfield who’s an expert on evaluating information and evidence. He says what we believe to be true and what is actually true can be mile...
In the words of Dr. Seuss… “oh the places you’ll go!!” Think about it. The act of moving from one place to another. I’m talking about migration. How you and I move over our lifetime is not only life-changing. It’s world-changing. Think for example about the waves of migration after the two world wars. They dramatically changed the composition and character of countries. And migration changed us – our identity - in the most fundamental w...
There’s nothing like it in our universe. Black holes. They’re enormous (understatement), mysterious (understatement) and they’re positioned at the centre of many galaxies – including our own. Sagittarius A, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is over 4 million times the mass of the sun. And there are even bigger black holes. Stuff goes into a black hole. NOTHING comes out. Why? What happens to the matter that’s in there? How fast do black holes grow? When d...
Don’t take your gut for granted. Researchers are discovering more and more astonishing things about our gut. Its connection to allergies, auto-immune diseases like lupus and inflammatory bowel disease. Its relationship to heart disease, cancers – and even mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Did you know how you were born – whether a vaginal birth or a C-section – affects gut development? Whether you went to daycare and how dirty you got as a kid - these to...
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